Sleepless nights for HCMC workers seeking to close social security accounts

Over 50 people had arrived with mats, raincoats and hammocks to the Hoc Mon District Social Insurance Office on Tuesday.

People said due to the huge number of applications, many had arrived the previous night to be at the head of the line.

In the first quarter the number of people who filed for cleaning out their social insurance accounts – meaning they will no longer be eligible for retirement pensions – in HCMC was around 26,000, a 6% increase from the fourth quarter of 2021. The difficult economic situation has been blamed for the withdrawals.

There was a dramatic increase in the number of unemployed people in Districts 12, Hoc Mon and Binh Tan, where several industrial complexes and factories are located and many workers live.

People rest in front of the Hoc Mon District Social Insurance Office waiting for it to open.

Hoa said she has been to the place four times, all at 4 a.m., but has not been able to complete the procedures. Finally she decided to go there at 7 p.m. the previous day.

The 41-year-old woman said: "This is my last resort, otherwise I wouldn't have waited like this. I worked at a textile company, but recently got laid off, so I have to withdraw the money to make ends meet."

If a worker is unable to find a job for a year after losing or quitting their previous one, and has not paid their monthly social security premiums, he/she is allowed to withdraw their accumulated money.

Nguyen Quoc Thoai, 34, said there was no place in front of the gates for him to lie down, and so lay on his motorbike instead. He said his job has paid poorly lately it has been hard finding a job recently, so decided to withdraw the VND35 million ($1,492) he had accumulated over four years.

He used to be a delivery man, before quitting for a year due to Covid-19 impacts and then became a factory worker.

"But the company is also going through tough times and we have not been paid," he said.

Some 100 people lined up at a coffee place near the Social Security office in District 12, waiting for it to open.

A man sleeps in front of a house.

A bleary-eyed man waits for the office to open.

A woman named Huong rests her head on the gate, tired.

She said: "I was the first in line after coming at 5 p.m. yesterday. Though I'm tired, I have to try and get the money to take care of my family."

A security guard tells people to maintain order.

Phuong, queue token in hand, said she had come at 6 p.m. the previous day.

Tran Dung Ha, deputy director of the HCMC Social Security, said several facilities were overwhelmed due to limited staff and the enormous number of applications they had to handle.